Empathy and Imagination in Transnational Analogies of Caste and Race

On Capitol Hill on Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2014, members of the African American Legacy Families announced a “Declaration of Empathy” for Dalits in South Asia. While most scholarly comparisons of race and caste focus on their structural and ideological similarities, at this event, a cross-border analogy was inspired by imaginative and affective understanding, connection, and care. In this paper, I analyze materials related to the planning of the “Declaration of Empathy” and draw on interviews with its creators to explore empathy as a social and political relation that enables transnational affiliation. I historicize the event as part of a long history of connections between African Americans and Dalits and suggest that emotional recognition and affective understanding have been significant catalysts for transnational analogies and solidarities.